Ortho GroundClear Concentrate Mix Ratio: Ounces per Gallon by Jug

How much for a 1-gallon, 2-gallon, or half-gallon sprayer

Here's the math for the common tank sizes.

Shop math: how far one 32 oz jug goes

• Super at 5 oz per gallon makes 6.4 gallons of spray. About 2,240 sq ft.
• Super at 10 oz per gallon makes 3.2 gallons. About 1,120 sq ft. That matches Ortho's "treats up to 1120 sq. ft." on the 32 oz jug.
• Year Long at 24 oz per gallon makes 1 1/3 gallons. About 400 sq ft.
• Poison Ivy & Tough Brush makes up to 8 gallons, per Ortho. The yearly cap below limits one jug to about 590 sq ft.

Per-application and per-year limits

More isn't stronger. It's just off-label. The Super concentrate label sets hard caps:

• No more than 10 fl oz of product per 350 sq ft in one application.
• No more than 20 fl oz per 350 sq ft per year. That's two full-strength passes.
• Need a second pass? Wait 28 days.
• No more than two broadcast applications a year.

Year Long gets one application a year. Ortho notes that in areas of heavy rainfall, you may need to repeat every 6 to 8 months. Poison Ivy & Tough Brush allows 5.4 fl oz per 100 sq ft per year, all applications combined.

How to mix and spray it

1. Pick the right sprayer. Plastic, aluminum, or stainless steel tank sprayer. The Super label says not to use a backpack sprayer.
2. Put on goggles. The Super label strongly recommends eyewear when mixing and applying. Year Long says it can cause substantial but temporary eye injury, and to wear goggles. The brush label also asks for long sleeves, long pants, socks, and shoes.
3. Measure with a dedicated cup. Shake the jug gently, measure the concentrate, and add it to the tank with the water. The Super label bans reusing that cup for food.
4. Pick the day. Calm air, no rain due for 24 hours, above 60°F. Both Super and Year Long list that temperature.
5. Spray the right way for the jug. Super: wet the weed leaves and stop before runoff, and shield plants you're keeping with cardboard. Year Long: spray bare ground or actively growing weeds and let it soak into the ground. Keep runoff away from plants you want. Brush: wet all leaves, stems, and trunks with a coarse, low-pressure spray.
6. Leave it alone. The Super label says don't mow, cut, or disturb treated weeds for at least 7 days.

Write "KILLS EVERYTHING" on that sprayer with a marker. Never put lawn products in it.

What to expect after spraying

Super weeds wilt within hours. Complete kill takes days to 1 to 2 weeks, per the label. Rainproof in 15 minutes.

Year Long starts working right away and is rainproof in 1 hour. It keeps new growth from coming back for up to a year.

Brush killer shows visible results in hours, per Ortho. Full wilting can take 2 to 6 weeks. Poison ivy and blackberry may need a second treatment.

All three labels say keep people and pets out until the spray has dried.

Replanting after GroundClear

This is where the jugs split hard.

Super first. Perennials, trees, and shrubs can go in 1 day after application. Starting a new lawn? Use the 10 fl oz rate. Don't mow for 7 days before or 7 days after spraying. Then wait 7 days after the last application before you rake, till, seed, or lay sod.

Year Long is the opposite. Skip it anywhere you'll plant within a year. Ortho says not to use it before planting lawns, fruits, vegetables, or flowers. It stays active in the soil for up to one year. Its actives are pelargonic acid and imazapyr.

The brush label gives no replant wait. Check the jug before you plant where you sprayed.

What other guides get wrong

Plenty of guides warn you off the lawn and stop there. Trees take the hit quietly. For Year Long, Ortho says to stay back twice the distance from a tree's trunk to its drip line. Skip slopes. Skip fence lines with plants on the other side. Year Long stays active in soil up to a year, so the tree-root risk is real. Nevada's warning covers longer-lived sterilants.

Trees near the gravel? Of these three, Super is the one Ortho lists for spot-treating weeds around trees and shrubs. Keep it off their leaves.

The other mistake is the name. GroundClear and WeedClear are one word apart, and the jobs are opposites.

• GroundClear kills everything green it touches, grass included. Driveways, patio cracks, gravel, fence lines.
• WeedClear is Ortho's selective lawn weed killer. It kills weeds in turf and leaves the grass alone. Which weeds depends on the bottle. Rates and grass types are in our WeedClear how-to guide.

Weeds in the lawn itself? Put the GroundClear back on the shelf. Not sure that brown patch is even weeds? Run a photo through the free AI lawn diagnosis first. Herbicide won't fix a fungus.

Still deciding between GroundClear and glyphosate for a driveway or a renovation? The chemistry and replant comparison is in Ortho GroundClear vs Roundup.

The short version

1. Read the front of the jug: Super, Year Long, or Poison Ivy & Tough Brush.
2. Super: 5 fl oz per gallon, 10 for tough weeds, 350 sq ft per gallon.
3. Year Long: 24 fl oz per gallon, 300 sq ft per gallon, and only where nothing should grow for a year.
4. Poison Ivy & Tough Brush: 4 fl oz per gallon. Wet the leaves, stems, and trunks.
5. Measure the area, calibrate with water, mix once.
6. Goggles on. Calm day, above 60°F, no rain for 24 hours. Pets off until dry.

Set it. Spray it. Leave it alone for a week.